For Immediate Release

Today, Butte County announced that it and PG&E have accepted a mediator’s proposal of $252 million to resolve the County’s Camp Fire claims, resulting from the 2018 Camp Fire. The Mediator’s proposal is exclusive of and does not affect the claims of any residents, individuals, or businesses.

The payment is to be incorporated in, and subject to confirmation by the Bankruptcy Court, a plan of reorganization to be filed by PG&E in its pending Chapter 11 case. The settlement is part of a total settlement of $1 billion to be paid to local government entities pursuant to the confirmed plan of reorganization.

JAMS Mediator Judge Jay Gandhi (Ret.) presided over several days of in-person mediation sessions held in San Francisco, California. Participants in the mediation included 14 public entities with various claims from the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 North Bay Fires, and the 2018 Camp Fire. Judge Gandhi’s global proposals included a total payment of $1 billion to be made pursuant to PG&E’s confirmed plan of reorganization. PG&E and all 14 public entities accepted the proposals.

“This is an important step towards stabilizing the County so we can continue to provide key services to residents, especially as our communities recover from the Camp Fire,” said County Counsel Bruce Alpert. “There will be long-term impacts to the County that are unknown and unquantifiable at this time. We know this is the first step in a long process, and many more approvals have to happen before the County receives any money.”

Butte County was represented by County Counsel Bruce Alpert, and outside counsel Scott Summy and John Fiske of Baron & Budd, and Ernie Washington and Peter Washington of Washington & Washington.

Contact: Casey Hatcher (530) 552-3336
Visit: ButteCounty.net |Facebook | Twitter @County of Butte
#ButteWx #ButtePrepares 

Oroville, CA – A Local Emergency caused by recent storms starting in November 2018, through February 2019 has been proclaimed for Butte County. The proclamation was executed by the County Chief Administrative Officer, Shari McCracken and the Board of Supervisors will consider an item at an upcoming Special Meeting to ratify the proclamation. The County executed the proclamation in response to substantial damage caused to County roads from heavy rain and flooding, as well as heavy winds which caused downed trees.

Proclaiming a Local Emergency due to the recent storms allows the County to access more resources to better assist with costs to fix local roads and assist residents affected by rising water levels and flooding. The full level of assistance for County roads and local residents still remains to be determined. For now, the County is focused on assessing the damage to County roads, such as the lane erosion on Centerville Road. The County is also assessing damages to local residents whose properties were flooded during the recent storms.

Media Contact:
Cindi Dunsmoor: (530) 552-3333 | cdunsmoor@buttecounty.net
Kira Souders: (530) 552-3321 | ksouders@buttecounty.net

 

Butte County, CA -- Butte County is partnering with the incorporated communities and several special districts to update their 2014 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP). Floods, drought, wildfires, and severe weather are just a few of the hazards of concern to our local communities. While natural hazards such as these cannot be prevented, an LHMP forms the foundation for a community's long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses by breaking the repeated cycle of disaster damage and reconstruction. Communities with a FEMA-approved LHMP are eligible to apply for both pre- and post-disaster mitigation grant funding.

The people most aware of potential hazards are the people that live and work in the affected communities. In addition to plan participation by local, state and federal agencies, the community is seeking members of the public to participate in our LHMP Update process.

An initial public information meeting will be held in the following location:
February 5, 2019
LHMP Public Information Meeting at 6:00pm
Board of Supervisors Chambers25 County Center Dr., Suite 205, Oroville, CA

For more information and to review the 2014 LHMP document, please go to http://www.buttecounty.net/oem/mitigationplans

###

Dr. Andy Miller, Butte County Health Officer, has issued a hazard advisory strongly suggesting no habitation of destroyed property until property is declared clear of hazardous waste and structural ash and debris by Butte County Environmental Health.